Adjustable caster



Patented J an. 20, 1920.

WU m 1' 3 W, n 3 1 wmf GEORGE F. VAN METER, 0F INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

ADJUSTABLE CASTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

Application filed August 22, 1919. Serial No. 319.175.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. VAN Marne, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county'of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Casters, of which the following is a specification.

My .present invention pertains to casters for Victrola cabinets and furniture and the like and it contemplates the provision of a caster that is at once adjustable and this with but a minimum amount of effort on the part of those practising the invention.

It is a well known fact that furniture and cabinets such for instance as Victrola cabinets when delivered from a factory generally have one of the legs slightly longer than the others, and hence the cabinet will not stand level. The uneven standing of a Victrola and talking machine cabinet is very undesirable because of the fact that the record or disk will necessarily be rotated in an uneven manner and hence cause scratching of the record by the needle.

It is the purpose of this invention to per mit of the ready leveling of a cabinet and hence overcome the necessity of placing a slight piece of wood or other material under one leg of the cabinet. The invention in all of its details will be fully understood from the following description and claims when the same are read in connection with the drawings, accompanying and forming part of this specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a view showing my novel caster as applied to one leg of a cabinet or piece of furniture.

Fig. 2' shows in section the caster and its appurtenances.

'Fig. 3 illustrates my novel means for looking the caster at a certain point on the shank.

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective of the locking pin per 86.

Fig. 5 is a section of a modified form of shank and showing the plurality of transverse grooves I employ under certain conditions in the shank.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the views of the drawings.

My novel caster comprises the well known wheel 1, and the yoke 2, and shank 3, the said shank being threaded at 4 and extending transversely in the length of the said shank 4 I provide a groove or channel 5.

This groove constitutes a very important part of my invention which will be apparent later. The said groove extends to the height of the threads 4 and as clearly appears in Fig. 5, the shank 3 may be provided with a plurality of such grooves when occasion arises.

Mounted on and capable of being screwed upwardly and downwardly on the shank 3, is a nut 6 having the downwardly extending wall 7 and at its inner portion the downwardly extending wall 8. The said nut may be of any configuration Without departure from the scope of the invention. In one face of the nut 6 and through the inner wall 8 thereof, I provide an opening as clearly shown in Fig. 2. On the outer Wall 7 I also providean opening that registers with the opening in the inner wall 8. Slightly to one side of or at any point convenient to answer the purpose, I provide in said outer wall 7 a second opening; these openings being provided for a purpose that will be brought out later in this specification.

By reference to Fig. 4, it will be apparent that I provide a plunger having the stem 9 and locking pin 10 together with the head 11. Surrounding said stem 9 as shown in Figs. 2

and 3 I provide a spring 12 that abuts at one end against the downwardly extending outer wall of the nut 5 and at its inner end abuts against a stop pin 13. At this point I would have it understood that the said spring may be retained in a casing or by the inner and outer walls of the nut 6 without affecting the invention.

The said pin or stem 9 as illustrated in F ig, 2 passes through the large opening in the wall 7 and then passes through the opening in wall 8 of the nut 6 and the locking pin under normal conditions will rest in the small opening in the outer downwardly extending wall 7 of said nut. When the device is employed on a cabinet or article of furniture, I place a spring socket. or retainer 13 as illustrated in Fig. 1. However, this socket forms no part of my invention.

In the practical use of the device, the socket 13 is fastened or otherwise driven into the leg of a cabinet or the like. The novel nut 6 is then placed over the shank so that the threads of the shank engage those of the nut. When it has been determined the height at which the cabinet should stand, the head 11 is turned so as to force the locking pin 10 into its complementary opening and hence the plunger or stem 9 will seat in the transverse groove 5 of the shank and strongly and rigidly hold the cabinet in a level position.

If for any reason it is desired to move the cabinet and when so moved because of irregularities in a floor the cabinet will not stand level, it is simply necessary to pull out the head 11 and unseat the stem 9 and locking pin 10 and turn the same either to the right or left. Such turning will cause the pin 11 to abut against the nut and hold the stem away from the transverse channel or groove of the shank. The nut may then be turned either to the right or left as the case may be.

So as to permit the finest kind of adjustment of the cabinet I sometimes provide the shank with the four transverse grooves or channels as shown in Fig. 5 and when such a shank is employed an adjustment of one quarter of the diameter of the shank may be readily and quickly made.

It will be gathered from the foregoing that the device is simple to operate and coinprises no delicate parts such as are likely to get out of order and when constructed and arranged as shown in the drawings presents a device that will enhance rather than detract from the value of a cabinet or other article of furniture.

I would have it distinctly understood that my novel construction may be employed equally as well with roller or ball-bearing casters as with the caster illustrated; also that my nut may be formed with a solid wall in place of the inner and outer downwardly extending walls.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. Ina caster, the combination of a shank, transverse grooves in the shank extending the approximate height of the shank, a nut threaded on the shank, andhaving an inner and outer wall, an opening in the inner wall, an opening in the outer wall registering with the first-mentioned opening, a locking opening also arranged in the outer wall, a key passing through the registering openings of the several walls, and having a head at one end, a locking portion arranged atone side of the head whereby the key will be retained in the grooves of the shank to prevent casual turning of the shank with respect to the nut.

2. In a caster, the combination of a nut, outer and inner walls therein, an opening that registers with an opening in the inner wall and being provided in the outer wall, a pin entering the several openings in the Walls, a spring abutting the pin andthe several walls, and a shank having a channel arranged in the transverse height thereof whereby the nut will be retained is a specilied position with respect to the shank.

3. In a caster, the combination of as'hank, threads arranged thereon, groo-vesprovided in the transverse height of the shank, a socket arranged around the upper end of the shank, a nut having a threaded portion engaging'the other threads of "the shank, openings that register with each other arranged in the nut, a second opening adj acent one opening in the nut, a pin having a'locking portion and ahead atoneend, said pin being surrounded by a spring, means 'for retaining the spring in proper position with'res'pect' to the nut; said pin further entering thefirstnamed openings in'the nut and capable of resting under normal conditions in the'channels ofthe groove. v y

In testimony whereof have hereunto set my hand in presence or two subscribing witnesses. x M H l I GEORGEF, VAN'METER.

VVitnes'ses JOHN If". DREGMAN, OTTO W. KUEH'RMANN. 

